


Sweet Little Lies

by Doxx



Series: Sweet Little Lies [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Almost injured, Distrust, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Poison, Remus being Remus, Tea, Unsympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doxx/pseuds/Doxx
Summary: Logan and Janus continue their conversations and discussions.Remus starts to get jealous of the amount of time that Janus is spending with him, however, it turns out that Janus was watching out for the wrong twin....Unsympathetic!Roman
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: Sweet Little Lies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972297
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	Sweet Little Lies

With Remus's reluctant support, Janus had rearranged the common space to better accommodate his and Logan's now regular meet-ups. There was a side table at the right height to set a tea tray, that either could easily reach. The armchairs too, had been shifted, that they angled towards each other, rather than the confrontational face to face or the impersonal side by side. 

It made for more interesting conversations when Janus could see Logan's hands as he spoke, and note all the little gestures and motions that he would use to fill the silence or occupy his hands while he thought of what to say next.

At first they had tried to alternate meetings between the LightSide and the DarkSide, but Patton's concern and Roman and Virgil's outright distrust did not make for comfortable surroundings. Besides, Janus felt more familiar with the Darkside, and thus less nervous about disclosing personal details about himself.

They had done away with the timer. It seemed silly to limit either their time together or the ability to lie, especially now that Logan was getting rather good at picking out Janus's deceptions, even when mixed up with truths. 

Janus had discovered (but had not yet openly shared with Logan) that while most thought that he preferred to speak in lies, it was truths that caused him the most issue. If he could avoid being outrightly honest, he found that he was less drained and exhausted as a result. 

In fairness, Janus suspected that Logan probably already knew. The logical Light Side was adept at gathering information from what was presented to him, and he must have caught that Janus had started to shift his speech patterns, partly as experiment, and partly because he thought that Logan might enjoy the additional challenge of deciphering new forms of untruth.

Their shared language evolved, and Janus found that he could convey significant data through what he did not say.

If asked about his option on a particular topic, for example Remus's new hobby of nail-gunning soft toys to his graffiti wall at random points through the day, Janus could easily say that it was a unique approach to modern art, and that he admired the juxtaposition of something traditionally comforting matched with sudden and violent sound. Logan would be able to extrapolate that through not mentioning what he actually felt about the 'artwork', Janus was not exactly a fan.

He had even managed to admit that trust did not come easy to him, through knowing exactly how easy it was to lie and deceive. The implication that confessing his difficulty was token of trust in itself, and did not need to be spoken aloud for Logan to nod in understanding. 

Janus could not recall a time that he been able to be so free with his words, and yet, he still felt heard and heeded. It was strange sensation, and one that Janus was coming to realise he actually appreciated.

Likewise, Logan seemed cheered to be able to delve deep into a topic of interest, sometimes dominating the conversation as he excitedly rattled off all that he found particularly fascinating about a particular subject. While rarely as invested as Logan, Janus relished when Logan got carried away with something he was passionate about. He rather liked that the other Side would deem him worthy to share his personal interests, and had as a result learnt more about star-systems, deep water trenches, the history of the Chicago river and slime moulds than he would have ever had notion to bother with researching on his own.

He would not say aloud, but Janus had to admit to himself that he had started to regard Logan as a friend.

Janus was getting ready for Logan to come visit, and filling the kettle with water and setting out the tea set they would use, when he heard someone approach.

He turned, smiling wide, and tried mask his disappointment when it was Remus, not Logan who came close.

Remus rolled his eyes. “Oh no! Is Specs comin' over _again_? 

“Logan, is _not_ coming soon. And I would _not_ appreciate a bit of peace and quiet to talk with him.”  
Janus noted that he had to stress his words to make sure Remus got his point. He had fallen out the habit... Logan needed no such obvious cues.

“You two don't do anything but talk! Can't you get into an argument, or a shouting match, or something?!”

Remus flailed his hands dramatically, and slumped over the counter beside Janus. He grabbed the tea caddy and sniffed at it, then pushed it away. “Ugh, too green. Leaves.”

Janus knew that there was a terrible plan forming before Remus even started to speak, his expression lifting as a new idea came to mind.

“Oh! There are lots and lots of poisonous leaves! Can I make you guys a pot of 'tea'?”

“A _kind_ offer,” Janus said, smiling, “but I think we might stick with camellia sinensis for the time being.”

Remus gave an exaggerated sulk. 

He had, over the years, developed a resistance and tolerance for Remus's more extreme antics, and while he allowed and encouraged creative outbursts, he also would not let Remus turn the entire Darkside into a midden of chaos. The unpredictably of what he might wake to each morning certainly was not dull, yet Remus had adhered to most of the ground rules Janus had set out in order to not lose his temper when cohabiting with such a character.

Janus's room and personal effects were out of bounds (something Roman had yet to respect!), and anything that would cause harm or pain should be restricted to a separate room that would be marked as dangerous. In return, Janus made sure to acknowledge the boundless depravity that Remus could conjure, praising the originality when Remus either showcased a new project or talked about what thoughts were currently circling round in his head. 

They for the most part got on well, respecting each others areas of expertise, and Remus actually managed admirably given that Janus was inclined towards dishonesty more than truth. He had confidence enough that when told the Janus thought his latest endeavour beyond terrible, did not take immediate offence. In fact, Remus did not seem to mind if Janus liked or disliked his work, only that the reaction was substantial. Nothing was more insulting to Remus's mind, than a mediocre response.

Virgil, Janus reflected, had not been as easy to speak with, Janus seeming to unintentionally state all his worst worries aloud and thus increase his feelings of anxiousness and doubt. He supposed, with hindsight, that perhaps it was for the best that Virgil had found others that did not stoke the fires of his fears as much. 

It did not stop him missing Virgil's presence in the Darkside. Remus could be demanding, and at times exhausting to try and keep pace with the rapid flow of ideas that he spoke as fast as they occurred to him.

So it was nice to have someone new to talk to, and Janus checked behind him to see if Logan had arrived yet. 

He had not. 

Remus ran a hand through his hair, failing to tame the wiry and wild curls.

“You are spending a lot of time with him.... “ lines appeared between Remus's brows as he frowned deep, “You thinkin' of flicking from dark to light?”

Remus and Janus, to manage the loss of their friend and fellow Virgil, had crafted 'flick' to become a derogatory term for the process of a switch from one Side the the other, like the action of clicking a lightswitch.

“No.” Janus said, as sincerely as he could.

Remus shrugged, “Its OK if you want to go. I won't stop you. But I will miss you.”

Janus's hands moved before he had even realised, to grasp at Remus's and hold them tight.

“I am not going to flick.”

Remus laughed darkly then, and with lopsided grin said; “Heh, I almost believed that one.”

He flexed his fingers contained within gloves, and struggled to keep control, already straining that he had been so open and honest. Janus squeezed Remus's hands, to the point of pain.

“I may chat with the Lights, I may visit the Lightside, but this will always be home. My home is here.”

There was a long pause, as Remus tried to figure out if Janus was lying or not. Then, Remus relaxed visibly, and gave small nod. Janus released the grip that he had on the other's hands. 

“Neat!”

Not a moment after, Janus saw Remus's eyes pick up movement behind him and towards the entrance. Remus's face spilt in a wicked wink.

Janus tried not to react, as he heard footsteps behind him.

“So.” Remus said in a conspiratorial stage whisper, “What's your plan for the poor little Lightie? You gonna slam him in a cellar and hold him hostage? Teeth make for good negotiating tool, but not as good as fingers! An eyeball in a box is always a powerful bargaining chip!”

The steps stopped, apparently fearful that he was walking into a bad situation.

Sighing, Janus gestured that Logan could continue to enter. “Come on in Logan, I have the tea nearly ready.”

“Oh, oh!” Remus added, “We could hack off his leg, cook and baste it like a roast and serve it to the Lights as a peace token! I call Dibs on telling Roman he ate a bit of Logan afterwards!!”

Logan came up, on Janus's side rather than near where Remus was. 

“Should I be concerned?” he asked, eyeing Remus warily.

Janus turned with a smile, and started to make tea. 

“Absolutely.” he said, then, on realising that Remus was also present and not used to the way he could speak with Logan added explanation, “Just as Remus allows me my... 'inaccuracies', in turn I do not seek to police his words. It would be unfair for him to have to keep his thoughts to himself, so he is allowed to vent out as needed.”

Logan gave Remus an appraising look, “That seems reasonable.”

Remus scowled at the lack of reaction, and ground his teeth together. 

Janus reached to pick out a cup from the collection, this time selecting Goad's cup for his guest. It was a fine piece, the delicate china so fine it was almost as if it dared the user to drink from it.

Logan observed the array of cups curiously, having gleamed that each one was different and personalised to some extend, but he and Janus had yet to discuss the details. There were still some taboo subjects between them, and the way that different Sides were treated (and regarded as good or evil depending on arbitrary reaction to their function) remained something of a sore point. 

He looked surprised, however, at just how many cups were there in the Darkside. 

Remus, on seeing his interest, turned to regard Logan excitedly.

“Oh! You should have your own cup here, since we can't seem to get rid of you!”

Janus raises a sceptical brow, not trusting that Remus had entirely kind intentions, given that he was apparently rather jealous of how much time he was spending with Logan.

“A cup that scalds or spills on purpose is _very_ useful. Will it hold liquid....?”

“It will now!” Remus beamed, and with a gesture and a great deal of giggling, produced a misshapen lump of a cup, that was black with neon lettering scrawled in a jumble. It took Janus a moment to make out the words; 'poison', 'cyanide', 'strychnine' and 'ricin'. 

He had no doubt there would be similar words writ all round the cup.

Logan took the offered cup slowly, and looked it over. He tapped it, and found while not particularly elegant, that it would suffice as a beverage vessel.

“...Thank you.” he said dryly, then realised that Remus had actually been fairly reserved in making the cup. Remus's own (it could not be anyone else's) was a gruesome green and charcoal black mess, and had shards of glass and glimmering sequins embedded in the ceramic. 

It felt like some attempt at acceptance, that he had been granted his own cup. Logan did not have much in the way to offer in return, save knowledge, and wondered if there was anything Remus might like to learn. He looked down at his cup for inspiration, and thought about what would appeal to Remus's sense of chaos. 

With a slight smile, he lifted his head towards Remus. 

“You know... there are so many styles there, but I wonder if you had considered using other materials...?”

“Huh?” Remus seemed genuinely confused that Logan was talking to him. 

“...There are alkali metals that might make for interesting tableware... Potassium, for example, ignites on contact with liquid...”

Remus's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. 

“No way?!” He bounced on the balls of his feet, and clasped his hands towards Janus, “Can we have an explosive tea party? You make the tea, I'll provide the cups!”

Janus shot Logan an unimpressed look, “I do not doubt you have fully considered the ramifications of giving him ideas....”

With apologetic shrug, Logan turned to Remus, “If you are going to pursue a round of testing of the reactions of alkali metals on exposure to water, I would strongly suggest safety screens... and goggles are always a good idea when engaging in scientific experimentation...”

Grinning, Remus shifted his clothes to that of a tattered and stained lab-coat, complete, Logan was relieved to see, with a set of safety googles. The lenses were cracked on one side. “It's been ages since I last played mad scientist!” he looked Logan up and down, and gave a approving nod. “You might not be so boring after all.”

With that, he darted off, rattling off ideas to himself, one of which Logan heard to be the notion of literal bath-bombs.

Janus made a soft sound of dread. “I greatly look forwards to seeing what he comes up with.” he then softened, on seeing Logan looked abashed, as if he had made a misstep.

“However, it ought to keep him occupied for the next while, which will be disastrous in terms of us having a peaceful conversation!”

He smiled warmly, and led Logan over to the armchairs.

They took their respective cups, and settled down, Janus carrying the teapot that they could top up as needed. The steeping brew steamed gently.

Unable to resist given the words writ upon Logan's cup, and in part wanting to see if the trust he had extended towards Logan was reciprocated, Janus smirked as he poured for Logan.

He waited until Logan had taken a sip, and mused out loud.

“A shame you did not heed that Remus was trying to warn you. The tea is poisoned.”

There was a look of shock that flashed across Logan's face, before he composed himself. Janus could particularly see his mind whirling, comparing what he knew of Janus, and what he could guess might be motives for attempting to poison his drink, and then, as he thought through the logical possibilities, the likelihood that Janus would gain anything through openly admitting his plot.

He took a deep breath, and lifted the cup, intending to prove that he knew Janus was lying through action.

The tea did not touch his lips.

In a blur of white and red, Roman charged across the space, launching himself bodily at Logan and knocking the cup from his hand with a battle-cry. Behind him, and running to catch up, were Virgil and Patton.

Janus was on his feet, his selfish need to keep himself safe overriding his hospitality towards protecting his guest, and he backed away from the unexpected situation.

On the floor, tea spilled out in wide arc.

“Don't worry Logan!”

Logan frowned at Roman, shaking his head. He straightened his shirt as he pushed Roman off of him.

“I am not worried. What are you doing here?”

“Saving you!”

Janus already did not like where this was going, and deliberated between making himself look as small and non threatening as possible, or defending his space, his territory and his friend. He halted in his retreat away from Roman, and took a bold step forwards.

“No-one is in need of saving.” he said, as calmly as he was able.

Roman drew his sword, “Which means someone _is_!” he proclaimed, levelling the blade towards Janus.

“We were just checking in to make sure everything was Okay-dokey!” Patton added, “But it sure did sound like you were trying to poison Logan Janus....”

“Snakes are often poisonous.” Virgil added, eyeing Janus suspiciously.

“Venomous.” Logan countered, “Snakes are venomous, not poisonous.”

Janus pinched the bridge of his nose, “Accurate, but not immediately helpful Logan.” he lifted his head to stare down the uninvited guests, “Logan is not in danger.”

“Lies!” Roman shouted.

Shrugging with growing irritation, Janus said, “Fine! He is in terrible danger!”

“See!? He admits it!”

Janus had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming in fury. 

Roman, having assured himself of his righteous valour, stepped forwards with the sword, till it was pressed against Janus's chest.

He knew, that the way he reacted by shifting his gaze wildly from side to side did not make him seem any more innocent. Likewise, Janus could tell that by immediately moving away from Logan and the supposed 'scene of the crime' did not reflect well upon him. He tried to fight down his instincts to safeguard himself by running away, and at least try to give accurate account of what happened. 

“I can see that you are upset, and concerned for your friend...” he gestured to Logan, “But there has been a misunderstanding. If you would just let me explain -”

“I won't believe anything you say, Slithers.”

He hissed then, exasperated that even when he made the effort to try and be truthful, his words were not heard. 

Behind him, with his usual flare for terrible timing, there was a loud fizzing sound accompanied by bang and a great deal of shattering glass.

Remus poked his head from round a door (that had been thoughtful labelled as 'tea party testing – enter at own risk') and shouted out “Did you know that glass sheets are not the same as safety glass! Whoo, what a riot! Hey Logan, what else explodes? Wait... wha?”

There was smoke settling behind him, and his lab coat seemed to have a couple more holes that needed patched, and Remus walked over to see what was going on.

Rather than immediately jumping to Janus's defence, he seemed delighted at the new visitors and the conflict revealing itself in his sitting room.

“Roman.” Logan said, stepping over and trying to push the sword from where it was aimed. “I am unharmed, as you can see. Janus and I were about to have a cup of tea and talk. That is all.”

Patton seemed to relax at that, but Roman remained adamant in pointing his weapon at 'the enemy'. 

“We all heard! He said it was poison!”

“Nevermind that I am deeply unhappy that you have been listening in on us, I can assure you, it was a jest.”

“But you don't joke!” Virgil was standing close to Patton, but scanning over what had once been familiar to him. He looked uneasy that his old home looked a lot less intimidating without his penchant for gloomy lighting in place.

“True, but that does not mean I cannot appreciate humour. I often find a sharp wit very entertaining.”

Roman, on finding Logan not as grateful as he had envisioned at being rescued, decided to ignore him and turned his attentions towards Janus. 

“You must have done something! Maybe you bewitched Logan with your evil snake eye!”

“Ha! A snake charmer!” Remus cackled from behind Roman, coming closer to get a better look at where Janus was being threatened with the blade. Roman seemed to take his brother's words as confirmation that Logan was somehow being manipulated or controlled by Janus.

“I have done no such thing!” Janus could feel his voice rise in volume as he desperately tried to plead his case, making him sound insincere. 

“Please! I know better than to trust your words. We,” he gestured to where Patton was nervously grasping at the ends of his sweater, and Virgil had his eyes cast down low, both apparently not as convinced in their plan as they had been at the beginning, “we know that you've been luring him over here for weeks! What's your ploy, you scheming serpent?”

“Would it shock you to find that I enjoy a conversation that does not involve wild accusations? That just perhaps I value his company?” Janus swayed backwards, aware that there is still a sword pointed at him, and lacking the resolve to both fight against his self-preservation instincts and the efforts for forcing himself to be truthful.

“Likewise, I have found our discussions to be very satisfactory.” Logan added.

“Why would you want to? He is a liar, and a snake.” Janus winced, and turned the snake side of his face away. Roman continued, “Just look at him, he cannot be trusted. I'll bet he has told you all sorts of falsehoods!”

Logan paused, considering. Given the nature of the accusations, the one factor that his voice held over Janus's (ignoring the fact that he was apparently deemed to be mind-controlled – what a ridiculous concept) was his truthfulness. He felt that for most satisfactory resolution for all parties, and to prevent further conflicts, that being as open and transparent as possible would be the best course of action.

“Yes. Janus has lied to me during our conversations. However, it was --”

“Enough!” Roman roared, and moved to thrust his blade forwards. Janus flinched, but found himself unarmed, as Remus had swept in to block the blow with his mace. 

“So much for honesty being the best policy...” he muttered as he stumbled backwards out of range of the weaponry, and got to his feet. He looked at Logan, and pointed towards where Roman and Remus were clashing, sword and mace pressed against each other. He narrowed his eyes as he saw metal scrape against metal, and knew that these were no practice blades. 

Janus raised his voice that he would be heard across the room. “Logan. Grab Roman's blade will you? With both hands.”

When Logan made no move to immediately injure himself, Janus gave a dramatic gesture with both his gloved hands.

“Oh yes, he does appear completely enthralled.” he said sarcastically.

Remus, who had been holding Roman off and not retaliating, gave a hard shove and knocked Roman back a pace. 

Confused and defensive, Roman circled round, but found his next attack blocked by not only Remus, but Logan too.

“Roman. Stop.”

With difficulty, Roman halted. He was aware of many eyes on him, but somehow it did not feel right. The others were not looking upon him with admiration, but a growing unease he did not care for. 

Heroes were rarely uncertain.

“I am asking, as a friend, that you stop and put the sword down.” Logic's voice was measured, but there was underlying tension that betrayed that despite his claims to the contrary, the Logical Side did indeed have emotions, and right now, Logan was angry.

Roman reluctantly sheathed his sword, but glared at Janus. Remus retaliated by pulling down a eyelid with a middle finger, two different offensive gestures from across the world combined.

“Right. Perhaps now we might be able to talk about this... like rational figments?”  
Logan raised a brow, and continued, “Janus and I have been meeting. We sit, and drink tea, and talk. During which time, by mutual agreement, Janus is allowed to lie if he wants. Through this, I feel I have better understanding of the nature of deception, and have had practice in identifying it in many forms. I had aimed to become better accomplished at protecting Thomas from untruths, and Janus has been more than assistive towards this goal.”  
“There is nothing untoward happening here. No malicious schemes, no wicked plans. Just conversations, between friends. You have my word on that.”

Janus was impressed. Even though Logan had directed his dialogue towards Roman, making the prince the centre of his attention, he had made sure to include factors that would help convince both Patton and Virgil as well. The use of the word 'friend' was deliberate, designed to appeal to Patton fondness for close connections, and for Virgil, he had spoken of 'protecting' Thomas, which would resonate well with Virgil's own motives. 

Logan had also lied. 

At no point in their many meetings, had Logan spoke of wanting to learn how to spot a lie, so that he could help Thomas navigate through misinformation. Janus could hardly be considered to be of assistance towards a goal he had no notion of.

He made note in future to help instruct Logan in how he might detect inaccuracies to support this particular falsehood against scrutiny. 

That, however, very much depended on if Roman would accept that Logan was safe from Janus's influence.

The prince remained dubious.

“It's not I don't trust you...” He gestured to Janus with the hand not currently resting upon the hilt of his sword. “I just don't trust _him_.”

“Hmm.” Logan looked to where Janus was stood, and the snake-sided Side tried to keep his composure. He made for intimidating figure he knew, coloured like a warning sign, and his face had stilled into an cold grimace, unwilling to show his thoughts or feelings in case they could be used against him further. 

“Well, I do.” Logan said. 

He walked and gathered up his fallen cup, and beckoned Janus back towards the armchairs. He extended the cup, and smiled politely. 

“May I have another cup of tea please?”

Slowly, Janus approached, and picked up the teapot. He poured, and then set the teapot down. 

Logan took deep sniff, and smiled, “Thank you. It smells lovely.”

“Plenty poisons have no taste or smell.” Virgil said quietly, as Logan drank, not moving to try and stop him.

Logan finished the entire cup, and held it upside down to show there was nothing left.

A silence fell over the group, before Patton found the nerve to speak up.

“But... why does the cup has poisons written all over it?!”

Remus laughed loudly, as he put up a hand and waved it merrily. 

“Oh.” said Patton, then, in a very small voice; “Oh.... Were we... Were _we_ in the wrong here?”

Janus could hear the weakness, obvious and enticing, revealing a tender place that he could poke and prod at to great effect. He could make the others feel truly sorry for what they had done, provoking deep remorse and guilt, and if he wanted, he could withhold forgiveness to really make them suffer for not believing him.

It was not a 'good' course of action, nor a very helpful one, but he would be lying if he claimed that he was not tempted.

Instead, he softly said, “You obviously care for Logan enough to take measures to ensure his safety, which is admirable. However, there seems to have been an honest misunderstanding. It can happen.” he took a deep breath, and forced his voice to remain steady and smooth, “I am grateful that we have now cleared things up. No need for apologises, there was no harm done.”

He gave Roman a pointed look, not mentioning the sword used against him but touching against the score cut into his shirt as reminder that he would not soon forget that harm was very nearly caused. He was no LightSide to forgo the bearing of grudges. 

Likewise, Janus was not altogether too surprised that Roman continued to look distrustful even as he gave reluctant nod that things were 'cleared up' to his satisfaction.

“Lovely to see you again bro, we should do this more often!” Remus said, as he repeatedly let his mace fall into his open hand with a slap. His stance was not as merry as his tone might have portrayed, and he seemed only a poor remark away from reigniting the fight.

With look to his compatriots who no longer looked like they would cheer him onward in vanquishing the villain, Roman decided to retreat with what dignity remained to him.

He slowly, without even trying to get the last word in, walked back towards the Lightside of the mindscape, Virgil and Patton in tow. 

As soon as he, Logan and Remus were left on their own, Janus found his way to the nearest armchair and slumped into in, exhausted.

Remus wandered over, and poked at Janus's arm with his mace with concern, gentle as a spiked steel weapon could be. “Yo. Snake-face, you all right?”

With weak laugh, Janus turned, “I am not, and not at all grateful for your intervention.”

That seemed to satisfy the darker Side of Creativity, and he grinned, giving Janus the finger, “Sod you, getting into all sorts of trouble without me! Next time you plan of riling up everyone, you'd better invite me along first! I'll help!! Bet with enough swear words and insinuations, we could make Pappa-Patton have a big ol' juicy aneurysm!”

He chuckled at the thought of it, and then with a respectful nod towards Logan took himself off to continue his experiments in terrible tea-party tea sets.

Logan sat down as well, and glanced over to Janus. He too, looked drawn, as if also wearied by the encounter. Or, perhaps Janus thought, thinking back to how Logan had sympathised with Janus not being listened too, irked that again it had taken considerable effort to make himself heard. To the point he had to drink tea that the others thought might be poisoned to prove himself and that his trust was not misplaced.

Janus spoke first. “You stood up for me. That was... unappreciated.”

Logan nodded, though Janus noted a brief twitch of an eyebrow while he had to stop himself from shaking his head on automatic response. “Of course I would. I was honest in what I said. You are my friend.”

“But... I feel it pertinent to mention, you were not entirely honest in _everything_ that you said....”

“True.” Logan said with a smirk that seemed strange to see out with a mirror, and suddenly Janus understood.

Just as Logan had utilised certain words to appeal to Patton and Virgil, he had lied on purpose to let Janus know that he deemed lying on occasion a necessity. That he accepted Deceit, and wanted Janus to know as much. That he accepted deceit as function that had use, that had value, and was not just a aspect of the Dark that ought to be disregarded

Janus did not, in honesty, in falsehood, in all that lay between, know how to respond. He stared at Logan, amazed and appreciative in words he could not bring himself to say.

Logan, thankfully, spared him from having to chose between trying to be truthful or risk speaking and being misunderstood at such a delicate juncture.

In two hands Logan picked up the teapot, a little cooled due to the interruptions, but still drinkable.

“More poison?” he asked, straight faced.

Janus laughed.

“Thank you.” he said, truly honestly, as he offered his cup to be filled.


End file.
